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Amit Mehra did not have right to remake ‘Zanjeer’: Javed Akhtar

Mumbai, April 23 As the remake of 1973 film “Zanjeer” reels under copyright issues, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar of the duo Salim-Javed, who wrote the original movie, hopes to resolve the problem amicably.

“We have sent them a notice but we really hope they will solve it. We hope the problem will be solved amicably and we can sit across the table and decide. If not, then we will have to take another step,” Akhtar told reporters here.

The remake is being directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Amit Mehra, son of late filmmaker Prakash Mehra, who financed the original film.

The remake is said to feature southern superstar Ram Charan Teja and Priyanka Chopra in prominent roles. The shooting of the film is under way and is being made in Hindi and Telugu simultaneously.

Akhtar is miffed after the makers decided to begin shooting for the remake without getting the go-ahead from Salim and Javed. He says the producer doesn’t have the right to make the film in other language.

“Yes, he (Amit Mehra) had the right to make the film, but he did not have the right to remake the film. He did not have the right to make the film in other language. And now that they are remaking it in Telugu and Hindi, they have to take permission from us,” said Akhtar.

“Besides that, they are making certain changes in the script. We have not surrendered our moral rights to the producer, we have never done so. So, they cannot make it without our permission,” he added.